Vulnerability, Transparency, and The Art of Asking
I read books, listen to podcasts, and listen to audio books almost every day. Recently, I have been both reading and listening to ‘The Art of Asking’ by Amanda Palmer. This is probably the third or fourth time to listen to the audio book, which I bought years ago when it first came out. The book has always been intriguing and interesting, but recently it has resonated more than ever. The book is a longer exploration of her Ted Talk entitled ‘The Art of Asking.’
Vulnerability
One of the important concepts in the book is the importance of embracing vulnerability. She highlights the importance of being open to asking for help and, equally important, accepting help when it is offered. She talks about her own experiences with vulnerability, both as a street performer and as a musician. For her, vulnerability is how people can foster deeper connections with others.
Letting my guard down to be vulnerable is not something that comes easy for me, and I suspect many people. I admire people like Amanda Palmer who have worked to be authentic and vulnerable.
Transparency
A key element to Palmer's success, discussed in the book, is her commitment to being transparent and honest with her audience. Her honesty has helped her develop trust and loyalty among her fans, which have been crucial to her crowdfunding successes on both Kickstarter and Patreon.
Of course, transparency and vulnerability go hand in hand.
The Art of Asking
There are plenty of crowdfunding platforms available these days, and I have tried quite a few of them. Even SubStack, on which this newsletter is published, is a form of crowdfunding with the option to have subscription tiers. There are also platforms like Patreon, Kickstarter, and Ko-Fi (which I also use).
Asking and getting paid to create my art has been a lifelong struggle. Recently, I have mostly tried the approach of not asking but rather offering things for sale, like print on demand sites, writing pay-walled Medium articles, and creating digital downloads like coloring books and phone wallpapers. Collectively, these sources make far less than $100 a month on average, so not really enough to live on.
My full-time illustration attempt over the last four years has been funded by my continued part-time work as a UX/UI Design Consultant. I have been in technology and User Experience design for over 20 years. I had been really fortunate to work part-time the last couple of years, providing me with time to pursue illustration.
Many of you may be aware that ongoing tech layoffs have decimated UX and UI positions. There have been record layoffs that have swept through the tech industry over the last two years. The competition for open UX positions is fierce, and I have additionally experienced age discrimination.
With A Little Help
This newsletter is my first tentative step toward being more open and transparent. I want to find ways to help myself and other artists make money and continue their art. It is frankly hard work, but it is worth it.
There are many ways to support artists and creators without spending money. Sharing posts and spreading the word are age-old ways to help that continue to work in the digital age. It really does help. Social media platforms DO NOT help creators get found. The algorithms are not set up to help artists. Algorithms are set up to serve the platform. They want you to see more ads and spend more time and money on their platform.
If you can help artists and creators with one-time or monthly monetary contributions, that is wonderful too. It will help them to continue to create and make more art for you and the world to enjoy.
The famous Beatles song ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ says that “I get by with a little help from my friends.” This is true for all creative artists. We depend on our family, friends, and fans to support our work. In return, artists give their art back to them and the world. This is the exchange. Sometimes we are the artist and sometimes we are the patron. When it works well, it is a blur about who is giving and receiving, and we are all just giving what we can to support each other and make the world a more creative place.
Be kind to yourself on your creative journey.
Help Out
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